Provenance:

S. Family Collection, Toronto, ON

Note:

Untitled (Hunters and Animals) is one of three important early works by Parr in the present auction, all of which belong to a family of drawings which date to early 1961, the first year of the artist’s known output, prior to his move to Kinngait (Cape Dorset).

Born in 1893 in an isolated camp on the southern shore of Baffin Island, Parr lived through a time of significant change for many Inuit. Despite this, like many early and mid-20th century Inuit artists, he lived much of his life in a manner similar to those before him, informed by a tradition that emphasised the proximity of physical and spiritual worlds.

Parr had suffered a significant hunting accident in his prime, and by the time he started drawing– on the prompting of Terry Ryan in 1961– his ability to hunt was severely hampered. When Parr did start drawing, images flowed out of him with remarkable rapidity and apparent ease. During the last eight years of his life, Parr produced thousands of drawings on paper, just 33 of which were included in Cape Dorset’s releases in his lifetime.

Parr is primarily known through his printed images, notable for their rhythmic composition and mysterious x-ray-like depictions of physical—or perhaps spiritual—anatomy. It is however in drawings such as the present works, with their immediacy and scattershot line, that the most direct encounter with Parr’s unique visions can be experienced.

Marion E. Jackson and Drew Armour, Parr, His Drawings (Halifax: The Art Gallery Mount St. Vincent University, 1988)
Terrence Ryan, Parr 1893-1969, A Print Retrospective (Kinngait: Kinngait Press, 1979)

Untitled (Hunters and Animals) is one of forty-five works in the present auction from a pioneering and important Toronto collection of Inuit art, the S. Family Collection.

Distinguished by its remarkable diversity, and uniformly high quality, the collection was built on over fifty years of dedication. Acquisitions were made both from the leading dealers and private collectors of the period, as well as directly from artists during several excursions to the north, including to Qamani'tuaq (Baker Lake), and Arviat.

Although the S. Family organized a handful of exhibitions specializing in sculpture, many artworks from their personal collection have remained largely unknown to the collector community. Significant sculptures and graphics come from artists including Davie Atchealak, Ooviloo Tunillie, Parr, John Tiktak, Joe Talirunili, Kiugak Ashoona, Nuna Parr, Aqjangajuk Shaa, and Mathew Aqigaaq.